Mathura Sridharan, Ohio's newly appointed Solicitor General, racially abused, targeted for her 'bindi'

Indian-origin lawyer Mathura Sridharan was appointed as Ohio's 12th Solicitor General, making her the state's top appellate lawyer. She will represent the state in some of its most high-profile legal battles, including cases before the US Supreme Court and other high-level state and federal courts.

The appointment was announced by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost last week, who praised Sridharan’s sharp legal mind and track record in court.

“Mathura is brilliant… she won her argument at SCOTUS last year. Both the SGs she worked under (Flowers & Gaiser) recommended her. I told her when I originally hired her I needed her to argue with me. She does… All the time! Excited to promote her. She will serve Ohio well,” Yost wrote on X.



However, Sridharan was a target of racist and xenophobic trolling online. The hatred stemmed for her Indian heritage and people questioned why someone with a non-Western name and background should hold such a senior legal post. Some even mocked her for wearing a bindi in her official photo.

Who is Mathura Sridharan?

Sridharan is currently the Deputy Solicitor General of Ohio and heads the state’s Tenth Amendment Center, a division focused on defending state authority and pushing back against what it sees as unlawful federal overreach.

According to The Federalist Society, a conservative and libertarian legal group with which Sridharan is affiliated, she has previously led lawsuits aimed at protecting Ohioans from federal policies that allegedly violate the Constitution and disturb the balance of power between state and federal governments.

On the academic front, Sridharan holds a Juris Doctor from the New York University School of Law, along with multiple degrees from MIT, including a Master’s in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Bachelor’s degrees in both Economics and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science.

Prior to joining Solicitor General’s office, she was with two prominent federal judges: Judge Steven J Menashi of the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and Judge Deborah A. Batts of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Sridharan is also a trained in Carnatic music, a classical form of music from South India, and has even performed during Chennai’s December music season.
She has been married to Ashwin Suresh since 2015.

Following the online trolling, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost defended Sridharan. In a sharp response, he directly defended Sridharan’s appointment and said that she is being wrongly portrayed as a non-American, adding that if Sridharan’s complexion or her name is bothering someone, the problem is with them and not her.


“A few commenters have asserted incorrectly that Mathura is not American. She is a United States citizen, married to a US citizen, and the child of naturalised US citizens. If her name or her complexion bother you, the problem is not with her or her appointment,” he wrote on X.